Chapter 298
Chapter 298
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 298
>Chapter Title: Yes, Damian. I'll Do My Best
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A fierce wind whipped through the dockside.
Mana, which had been frolicking freely through the space, gathered densely around Aster and solidified into a rigid mass.
Even without unleashing Transcendence, the four circles he had recently expanded to were more than enough to dominate the space.
“...Hm, you're quite hasty. I still think there's room to resolve this through talk.”
“By all means, speak.”
“Perhaps the reward doesn't sit well with you? But I'd appreciate your understanding on that front. If you or Damian had been a girl, we could've bound you with a marriage alliance, but that's not possible. I don't even have a daughter, after all.”
Leodis meant every word.
Aster's realm was already Transcendence.
He didn't know his exact age, as he was a stray from the Black-White Slums, but his talent was unprecedented in history.
And if the Blandoga Family could harbor such talent, Leodis was even willing to hand over the position of Patriarch.
Of course, the child would have to take the Blandoga name.
But Damian wasn't a girl, nor was Aster.
That was why he had offered a Vassal Family instead...
“Ah, how about this? If you're after the Patriarch's seat, become my adopted son. And... yes, you could marry Lana. Lana von Gilrox—you've met her before, right? My niece. Technically, she carries the Blandoga bloodline too, so it shouldn't be a bad match.”
It was a bizarre proposition.
A Black-White Slums stray becoming the Patriarch of Blandoga, with a woman bearing the Gilrox name as the matriarch.
And the child born between a father without a surname and a mother with the Gilrox name would take the Blandoga name.
It was the kind of thing that would make pureblood traditionalists from prestigious houses foam at the mouth, but Leodis was sincere.
“You don't seem to have considered Damian's feelings.”
“That child has no interest in the Patriarch's seat. He'd probably be thrilled if you took it on. And I... I just want him to live freely, unbound by duty.”
“...”
Aster fell silent for a moment.
Leodis was utterly unpredictable.
One moment he seemed like someone who needed to be killed for being dangerous, and the next, he was offering to put that same person above him as Patriarch—even over his own son.
It was a mindset impossible to grasp with ordinary logic. But Aster had no intention of trying to understand it.
He simply prepared.
It was then that Leodis snapped his fingers and let out an exclamation of delight.
“Ah! This is definitely a good idea. Yes, better to seat you as Patriarch than kill you. You'd get your hands on Blandoga, Damian could live freely, and it's not bad for Blandoga either. Lana's quite clever, so a child between you two could handle the next generation. Or if not, Damian's child could be the Young Patriarch after that. As for stimulating Damian... Chebi should do nicely for that.”
Leodis's eyes shone with satisfaction at his own proposal.
Why wouldn't they?
It satisfied both his affection for Damian and his duty as Patriarch to secure the family's interests.
No matter how grotesque the outcome.
An ordinary person would have nodded along to that logic.
Even Aster found it tempting.
Because it meant seizing control of a prestigious house like Blandoga.
Unlike the Decullans' offer to make him a dog with a Vassal Family, this would make him the true master of a great house.
But.
“Not really appealing.”
Aster shook his head.
Leodis, who had been excitedly expounding his thoughts, tilted his head in puzzlement.
“Why not? Is Blandoga not to your liking?”
“No, that's not it.”
“Is it the Magic Tower? No need to worry. Plenty of past Patriarchs belonged to outside organizations. Even I serve as advisor or honorary member in a few academies. And if you took Blandoga, wouldn't that benefit the Magic Tower too...?”
It sounded reasonable on the surface.
The Magic Tower backed by Blandoga.
They'd no longer need to fear the Decullans or watch the Second Prince's moods.
Ties with Lortel would strengthen, and they could raise the Third Princess to oust the Second Prince.
But.
“Well.”
It was a sweet temptation, but Aster remained skeptical.
Leodis expressed deep puzzlement at his attitude.
“I can't understand it. There are no better terms than this.”
“I'm not sure myself...”
Aster felt much the same.
The conditions Leodis offered were unparalleled.
But something inside him rebelled.
He couldn't pinpoint why, but imagining himself as Patriarch of Blandoga made the tower in his heart shake unceasingly.
“Anyway.”
“Go on.”
“Shall we end the conversation now?”
“Hm...”
Leodis narrowed his eyes slightly, as if pondering.
But the deliberation didn't last long.
“Very well, time is short. Best to wrap this up. But really, can't you reconsider?”
“Doesn't seem likely.”
At Aster's calm reply, Leodis nodded.
“First, let me apologize. If you'd had family, I might have trusted you a bit more, but you don't. Without foundation, I have no choice. Ah, would pulling an eye instead of the tongue be alright? Talking with you has been quite enjoyable.”
“But why cut out the tongue?”
“Nothing blocks the mouth as effectively. Just the fact that you can't speak makes everything so much harder. I know from experience.”
“Experience...?”
“Regenerating a tongue isn't that difficult.”
It was madness.
He was saying he'd cut out his own tongue before.
“Then the eyes...”
“Hurt less than limbs. Eyes are done in two goes, limbs take four.”
“Hm.”
Logical.
If you couldn't seal the mouth, at least prevent escape by taking sight—definitely less painful.
“That's kind of you.”
“You get it. So, core and eyes alright?”
“Sure, whatever.”
Aster nodded nonchalantly.
Crunch, crunch—
The mana in the air compressed further, hardening rigidly. Soon, suffocating tension swirled between the two.
Roooar—splash!
The waves crashed loudly in their ears.
“I'll take good care of him. And stay good friends with Damian.”
Aster didn't reply.
Instead.
Crunch, crunch...
He maximized the circles' resonance, compressing the mana. He didn't unleash Transcendence. Leodis was a consummate Transcendent grand mage and Grimoire user; Transcendence was his last resort to kill him.
Meanwhile.
*Sigh, fuck.*
Aster swallowed a curse.
*Why the hell does nothing change? Nothing at all.*
He'd reached the supreme realm of Transcendence, yet he felt more like a punching bag than in his past life.
He had no idea what height he needed to reach for true freedom.
Anyway, that was that.
Aster steeled himself.
- I don't have a dad.
Yes, Damian. I'll do my best.
“Shall I go first?”
“Yes, go...”
“Thank you.”
Aster drove his fist with all his might into Leodis's face.
Boom...!
On the deserted dockside.
A thunderous roar echoed.
* * *
Transcendent versus Transcendent.
The clash of mages who had reached the pinnacle in their own ways was akin to a natural disaster.
Rumble—
The sky screamed and rippled, unnatural lightning blooming amid the clouds.
The once-calm sea churned violently, a blue glow emerging on the surface.
The omen led to explosion in an instant.
Craaaack—!
The water surface caved before the blast of annihilation. Shockwaves birthed man-sized waves that crashed over the dock.
But Leodis, struck dead-on by the explosion, merely took in Aster with glassy eyes, observing as if appraising.
“Impressive.”
He meant it.
His face was calm, but Leodis was more astonished than ever.
He'd known Aster had reached Transcendence, but chalked it up to mere talent.
But the Aster before him now?
Inhale and exhale.
Instinctively sensing his own breath and his opponent's, slipping into the gaps.
The spells deployed for attack and unidentified mana techniques flowed as naturally as his own limbs, every spell efficient in execution without waste.
At a glance, it seemed like reckless barrages of powerful techniques, but each held purpose.
Even now...
Craaaackcraaaack—!
Countless punches hammered the barrier. Striking one point, cracks spiderwebbed across the sturdy shield.
Soon—
Shatter!
The barrier scattered into powder.
Leodis gathered his thoughts and moved his hand.
Zing—
Red light bloomed from his fingertips, firing as a beam just before Aster's fist reached his face.
“...!”
Aster jerked his head left to dodge the beam, while igniting flames in his grip.
Leodis had already shifted to the sea's center, and Aster clenched his fist the moment he pinpointed him.
Fizzle!
The flames flickered and vanished.
No, not vanished.
Blink.
“...!”
Vicious inferno erupted beneath Leodis's feet.
The flames surged without warning—a miniature of the pillar Aster had used as foundation when achieving Transcendence.
Though weaker than when cast at Transcendence's limit, it carried the destructive imagery to incinerate all.
But instead of complacency, Aster prepared a second spell. Or was it even a spell?
Crunch, crunch—
Mana froze again. Resonating with his core, the dense mana compressed to its limit, gathering in Aster's hand.
Unlike pre-battle, when he'd densified mana to seal Leodis's spells like Aevilon had done to him... this was purely for destruction.
The mana, condensed to extremity, soon mingled with the mana rising from Aster's hand.
As always, the fusion of similar yet distinct energies repelled, that repulsion birthing explosive power.
With surrounding mana depleted and even the air wavering, Aster fixed his eyes on the blazing inferno—not with mana sense, but naked vision—to confirm Leodis's presence.
No.
...Too late if confirmed.
A sudden ominous premonition flashed through his mind, and Aster kicked off the air, charging Leodis. A hand burst from the pillar right after.
“It hurts.”
“...!”
Leodis emerged through the flames, his face a mess of burns, but the wounds healed in real time. As Aster recoiled at the grotesque sight.
“Naughty children need punishment.”
Leodis gripped Aster's collar.
Aster hurriedly tried to detonate the annihilation in his hand, but Leodis's spell was faster.
Rumble—
The sky roared.
Craaaackcraaaackcraaaack!
Dozens of lightning bolts plummeted toward the two Transcendents over the sea.
Agony that would shatter a mortal's mind. Amid it, Aster pondered and pondered.
How exactly to...
- I don't have a dad.
Fulfill Damian's wish.